Same Love
by pumpkintofu
Summary: Ace hates himself for who he is; gay. And in a society where homosexuality is oppressed, he finds himself conflicted and struggling on the journey to self-discovery against what seems to be a very cruel World. But little did he know that there are people who love him, no matter who he was. He just needed to accept them as much as he needed to accept himself. Modern AU. AceXMarco.
1. Chapter 1 : I n d i c a t i o n

**IMPORTANT: **

_**BEFORE YOU READ**_

As the writer of this story, I would like to ask for a moment of your time to please watch two videos before proceeding to read the rest of this story. As this is a cover-story of a song in which this fanfiction is influenced by, it is only appropriate if I ask that you please watch it (on YouTube):

_Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Same Love (feat. Mary Lambert)_

I also ask that you please watch another video (on YouTube):

_It's Time._ by GetUpAustralia Channel

**Support Marriage Equality** and **End Marriage discrimination**

* * *

Amongst the circle of college youths, who no doubt were drunk in a smokey haze of cigarettes and racing hormones, sat Ace; who was quietly reserved before he suddenly gained the attention of everyone in the room. Realising what had happened; freckles danced in a light shade of pink that blushed his cheeks as the young man was rather abashed to see that the neck of the empty beer bottle had pointed itself to him. And in a game of Spin-the-Bottle, where an attractive gentleman was up for stake, the girls within Ace's social clique could not resist a suggestive purr to the possible opportunity of kissing Ohara State University's most wanted man.

"Well, well, well . . ." Grasping the bottle within her slender fingers and playfully tapping the cool tip against her vibrant coral hair, Nami let out a sly smirk as she deviously posed, "Who's the lucky girl who gets to kiss Mr Portgaz?"

Excitement was escalating throughout the whole room as Nami placed the bottle on the carpet and whirled it in a spinning spasm. As the bottle hastily rotated in a fixed circle that discriminated nobody from being chosen, silence consumed the clustered room; breaths were suspended, adrenaline-shot eyes were widely opened in budding anticipation and the crunch of plastic sounded as some girls may have gripped their cups a little too hard. An anxious wreck behind his solemn mask, Ace felt unsettled as gray eyes trailed the gyrating glass that had now began to gradually slow down and come to decide the receiving end of his kiss. Shifting from Vivi . . . Sanji . . . Nami . . . Himself. . . Perona . . . Usopp . . . Johnny . . . Yosaku . . . Tashigi . . .

Then it finally stopped and Ace felt his eyes lift in surprise in identifying his destined recipient. . . _Oh man. . ._ Howls of laughter erupted throughout the circle of friends at the reaction of the person pointed out by the bottle. His nose flared and onyx eyes fuming as he ran a hefty hand through his emerald hair, Zoro irritably kicked the bottle away and openly declared, "No **WAY **in hell, am I kissing freckle-face over there."

Bending over, Nami mischievously grabbed Zoro's broad arms, despite his muscular frame, and shockingly tipped him towards a startled Ace, "Come on Zoro! Just a small kiss!" At this, Ace felt his heart abruptly heave and his stomach begin to pool with nauseating butterflies as the tinge on his cheeks tinted darker. He shifted uncomfortably in his spot, inclining his head to let the lustrous tresses of his ebony strands obscure the blush that was starting to heat his whole face.

"No!" Zoro furiously barked, jerking himself away from Nami's insistent grasp, "I'm **not** fuckin' **gay**."

Frustrated, Nami huffed before looking over to Ace, "Ace, how about you come over, and set this idiot's mind straight with a nice kiss?"

Before he allowed a chance for the swirling alcohol within his body to decide on anything stupid, Ace shook his head with a gawky laugh, "I don't kiss guys. I'm not, you know. . ." he begun trailing before timidly murmuring, "_gay_."

With a frown creased on her face, Nami shook her head, "You two honestly suck." She then grabbed the bottle, disregarding all the rules as she instantly directed the neck to a smoking blonde, "But the game continues, and it looks like its Sanji's turn."

With a quick flick, the bottle began its immediate rotation again, that discriminated nobody from being chosen. But despite knowing that it was not his spin, despite the little chance he had at kissing Sanji against 8 others, despite the fact that he had just stated that he was not gay only moments before. . . As the bottle continued twirling in a dance of chance and luck, Ace found that his heart never stopped abruptly heaving, his stomach never stopped pooling with nauseating butterflies, the deep blush that shaded his cheeks never faded. . . And that he might just be in denial of himself. He also found himself lowering; glossy metallic eyes sinking to the carpeted floor in a blanket of self-loathing and a sad smile edging his lips, because Ace hated what he had become.

_I say I'm __**not**__, but __**I am**__._

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you enjoyed this chapter (: Frankly, I was deeply compensating as to whether or not I should have published this ~ It all depends on the response of you lovely readers and if you wanted to read more about Ace's journey to accepting his sexual orientation and to basically, live without regrets (; I really want to know how you feel about that ~

So please express any comments, questions, criticism, opinions, feedback, critiques, recommendations . . . etc. They will be greatly appreciated ~ And look forward to the Chapter 2 ~


	2. Chapter 2 : S e l f - H a t e

**_Leviticus 20:13_**

_"If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."_

* * *

When he isn't in front of his friends, Ace finds it hard to contain himself. Their prying eyes, their intimate nature, their open opinions that were too easily voiced and judgmental, and the fact that he unconditionally knew how they would react if he were to ever 'come out'; was what forced Ace to be masked within a different persona in their presence and eventually, come to despise his true self.

It would have been so much easier if he was always _their Ace_, but the full reflection of him by the bathroom mirror illustrated a bitter truth. That he couldn't change who he was, even if he tried. . . Even if he wanted to. He would regularly pretend to be allured by a woman's curvaceous figure in front of them to prove himself, but never once, did he ignore coming across a male's gentlemanly act towards others. For that; the genuine heart within a refined man who selflessly bestows goodness, as well as the sturdiness and vigilant quality of masculinity, was what **truly** allured Ace.

Studying his lonely figure in the smoggy reflective glass; Ace simply could not contain himself to admit it. He then strained his pathetic self to smile; hot hazy moisture slowly beginning to fill his glassy grey eyes, sprinkles of freckles shaking in quivering tremors as a distorted and broken smile cracked his face.

"I-I… am…" Ace forcefully started with a choky gasp, trailing as the singular words lingered on his gapping lips.

All sorts of descriptions that Ace would define himself as, flashed through his twisted mind, eager to be said. _I am disgusting. I am monstrous. I am dirty. I am sinful. I am revolting._  
Unconsciously, a sombre tear began trailing down his trembling cheek as he continued eyeing his god-forsaken body in the mirror and painfully finished with a soft whisper of the truth, "…gay…"

All those degrading terms he had thought of before and being a god-damned homosexual; to Ace, it was_ all the same_. It was _all_ awfully, horribly and excruciatingly _the same_.

No longer able to continue dwelling his eyes on the image of his hideous person, Ace quickly grasped the nearest solid object and threw it into the mirror with a frustrated cry, "ARGH!"

Blinking away the hot droplets that soaked his eyes as slow laboured breaths escaped through his lips; Ace looked at the glass dangerously crack amidst a reflected freckled-face that disfigured his features. Upon seeing this, there was a satisfaction within him that lifted a smile on his face at how appropriate and accurate the broken image of himself was. Only until it suddenly shattered in a rain of shards and ear-piercing fractures, did Ace hastily scramble out of the bathroom and dash towards his bedroom. Silently praying that he would not have to encounter and explain everything to a certain person on the way.

But irritation washed over Ace's face as he let out a groan, for the path to his private haven was obstructed by his mother; curly ripples of strawberry-blonde tresses streaming down to the waist of her silky cerulean dress, soft slender arms tucked into her chest and swirling hazel eyes flickering in motherly concern.

"Ace. .." she gently called, voice like wind chimes in an autumn breeze as she stepped closer to her beloved son, "Is something wrong?"

Brushing pass her without another glance, Ace hurriedly stalked towards the door of his room and violently pulled the handle open with a shout, "Go **away** mum!"

"Ace…"

Squinting his eyes in remorse at the gentleness his mother always approached things with; Ace obviously knew that his outburst must have deeply hurt her. However, he didn't have the heart to tell her the truth of his identity; for it would just make matters worst and, there was _that _fear . . . A fear that will always haunt him for as long as he was gay; that she would leave his life in disgust of what he had become, and never love him again.

Ace pushed himself into his bedroom before painfully muttering, "Leave me alone."

"Please Ace, tell me what's-"

But Ace reluctantly cut her off his a harsh slam of the door, the crash sending a throbbing echo of guilt that churned Ace's insides. He knew how much he must have hurt his mum, who had done so much for him throughout his life, but he _had_ to do it. Because he could never tell her, never let her know of his abomination, never break her image of the perfect idealistic son.

Sliding his back against the rough wooden door and limply seating himself on the carpet floor, Ace dug his face into his hands. Nails pinching the creamy delicacy of his skin, moonlight filtering through his hanging strands of ebony hair and teeth sinking into the bottom of his lips in a poor attempt to avert the melancholy that was bubbling up into reality. _But when he isn't in front of his friends, Ace finds it hard to contain himself. . ._

Finishing what he had scarcely started before, Ace freely let the tears held up in his eyes, pour out into salty streams down his face that spewed pass the cleft of his fingers and down his pastel arms . . .Not even slightly aware that his mother was softly pressing against the closed door, letting out her own set of painful tears hearing her own son sob into the empty room on the other side.

* * *

**A/N: **Poor Ace ; A ; Just another depressing chapter to go and I'll bring in some (much needed and over-due) MARCO LOVEE to this ~

Hopefully he will brighten things up because I have a hunch that this chapter wasn't as well written as I hoped it would be and that it's boring you lovely readers out there ~ I fail at trying to set some character background and reaching emotional depth OTL

Anyways, I would like to thank the following beautiful people for giving me the motivation to continue; VS Yaney , TheStupidRaven , Guest & Son Goshen~ You all move me to tears with your nice words ; A ; Thank you so much ~

Also Portgas D. Paula and MCRxRoxx for your favourites ~ They mean so much to me (:

Please look forward to the next chapter and remember to please express any comments, questions, criticism, opinions, feedback, critiques, recommendations . . . etc. They will be greatly appreciated!

-Mochi


	3. Chapter 3 : A l w a y s

**A/N:** I hope you enjoy this Chapter and please express any comments, questions, criticism, opinions, feedback, critiques, recommendations . . . etc. They will be greatly appreciated!

* * *

_Men don't cry._ That was the very reason why Ace demolished the inner-barriers and began shamelessly wailing in a new depth of humiliation and agony. And it was even more mortifying that he could hear himself break down; his anguish released into the physical World through blatant cries that sorely vibrated his throat, making it harder to breathe in each mourning sequence. And then, there were the tears that seem to endlessly spill from his eyes; blurring his vision in a murky haze and creating puddled patches all over his exposed skin and clothing. The more Ace thought about being gay, the more he cried; the more he cried, the more he hated himself; the more he hated himself, the harder he cried. It cycled and cycled in what seemed to be an infinite routine, but in the end; Ace hated himself, because after all, _men don't __**fucking**__ cry_.

"Ace" a voice called; faint, feminine and soft but a beckon of twinkling hope in the dark tunnel of his thoughts. Amidst his grief, Ace perked his head up from the hold of his hands, straining his ears to hear more.

The voice continued, as lovely as the first time,"Please. Open the door."

It was then, that Ace realised that his mum was in fact outside his door; and he was furious that she didn't respect his wishes when he said he wanted some privacy. But a small part of him, a part that still retained an earnest affection for his mother; longed for her to stay, comfort and continue loving him. That is, until he remembered who he was, and how it made it virtually impossible for that to happen.

"I-I c-can't!" Ace choked out, his throat a salty knot of swallowed tears and hardship, "I-I can't let you see m-me mum!"

Rouge briefly closed her eyes in pause before flickering them open, "Ace", she repeated, pressing the palm of her hand on the cold wood, "_Please_. Open the door."

Wiping the dripping tears, Ace deeply inhaled the dim air of his room before he could choke out more sobs, "I'm so _fucked up_ right now! You're just going _hate_ _me_!"

And he knew he was correct when a moment of silence consumed both mother and son; the deathly stillness threatening to tear Ace apart when the thought of his only parent leaving him, became more plausible every second. Diving his head back into the gripping hold of his hands, Ace was about to resume his tearful routine before the same voice made its way into his hearing.

"You're wrong..." Rouge whispered, just audible enough for her son to hear, "I love you so much, Ace. I will never ha-"

But she was interrupted mid-sentence, when the door abruptly swung open and she stumbled into the bedroom; losing her only form of support before falling into the firm, yearning arms of her crying son that locked her within him hard. Rouge hugged Ace back and they both descended down to kneel on the floor, entwined in each other's embrace and tears falling freely in what seemed to be more of relief than sadness. Rouge was eased to know that Ace was okay from what she had imagined and was willing to open more to her; for she only recently noticed his change of behaviour, and was afraid that it was an issue that only a father could solve. A father who Ace unfortunately never got to grow up with. Nevertheless, as a mother, she was so relieved to be in the embrace of her most treasured child.

"Mum" Ace said, pulling only slightly away to meet her hazel eyes, "Do you love me?"

"Yes" Rouge instantly replied, clasping her hands onto the checks that shared the same spotted feature as hers, "I will always love you Ace."

"And you will love me, no matter what?"

Looking into Ace's swirling grey eyes, Rouge let out a small sincere smile in reflection to her next response, "No matter what... Always."

At that moment, Ace knew that he _had_ to tell her. Not because he wanted to know how she would react, not because she loved him so much but because _he_ loved _her _just as much, if not, _more_.

"Mum" he started, pulling fully away to give her a proper view of his being, "I have something I need to tell you."

Ace quickly rubbed his eyes clear and dry from anymore tears, taking a deep breath as he gazed at his mother before the most life-changing set of words escaped his lips. _Make or break._

"I'm gay... Always have been; for a long time. Always will be." The words easily slipped from his lips as he prepared, good or bad, for a reaction.

With not a moment to spare, Rouge leaned in and breathed, "I still love you Ace. Whoever you are, no matter what happens" She then encircled her slender arms around her son, softly caressing his smooth muscular back as it begun trembling, "I will always love you."

Ace then resumed his tearful routine throughout the night; his emotions released into the physical World through blatant cries that sorely vibrated his throat, making it harder to breathe in each emotional sequence. And then, there were the streaming tears, that seem to endlessly spill from his eyes; blurring his vision in a murky haze and creating puddled patches all over his exposed skin and clothing.

Because to Ace; at that moment. . . In the arms of his accepting mother, nothing felt better than _loving yourself_ for the very first time.

* * *

**A/N: **Hooray for Ace, who has someone (excluding you lovely readers) who accepts and loves him for who he is ~ Love yourself more ACE ~ LOVE THAT FIERY HOT-BUTT OF YOURS! * A * ./SHOT

\( ; A ; )/ Also I wrote this in one sitting so I apologise if it seems a little rushed or poorly written; because to me, it felt like the 3 hours I took to write this; was 3 hours worth of reading material ahahha- OTL ./BRICKED

As always, I would like you thank the following wonderful people : Son Goshen , StrawberryGirlKairi , VS Yaney , LadyUzuScarlet & azab for your kind reviews and praise ~ I was seriously going to delete this because I thought it wasn't up to people's standards but you beautiful souls kept me from trashing it and motivated me to continue writing; I cannot thank you enough for that support, it means so much to a small-forever-alone writer like me ~ TT A TT ~ *hugs* Also: the-freudianslip for your favourite, you have no idea as to how much that touches me ~~

Now, I don't know about you, but I AM SO EXCITED TO BRING **MARCO **INTO THIS STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER :D ./EXPLODES OF JOY (And I'm the author of this, why am I so excited?!)

Please look forward to it in Chapter 4 ~ :)

-Mochi


	4. Chapter 4 : T r a i n

**A/N:** I apologise for the late update , I have been stressing a lot recently ! But please do enjoy this short chapter and my fail-attempt to make Ace and Marco's first meeting romantic (╥_╥) And I only just realised that I have NEVER put up a disclaimer (always forgot) ; so here it is for the first time in my published works. . .

**Disclaimer:** I (obviously) do not own One Piece (by Eiichiro Oda) or It's Time (by Imagine Dragons) ~ ahahaha, I smell a law-suit coming up (~￣▽￣)~

I hope you enjoy this Chapter and please express any comments, questions, criticism, opinions, feedback, critiques, recommendations . . . etc. They will be greatly appreciated!

* * *

A. Few. Weeks. Later.

. . .

5AM. The metal doors slid open in welcome to the single lonely passenger that was Ace; who quietly entered the empty compartment and took a seat by the broad transparent window. But he failed to notice a light-haired figure that ghosted behind him as the signalling tone sounded and the metal doors shushed shut for the train's railing departure. Grey eyes scrutinizing the morning that unfolded itself outside in a moving blur; Ace quickly observed the blissful sunlight barely crack the dusty horizon behind the sleeping city, before he mounted the large pads of his headphones over his ears, switching his music on to an ear-piercing volume.

He simply loved the current song that was flowing through his ears and directly into his soul. He was in an infinite trance; engrossing in the deep rhythmic percussions and bass, the delicate sounds that singed into the background of the melody and the sheer passion that the band sang in expressing their moving poetic lyrics. Ace felt infinite.

_I love __**Imagine Dragons**__, yoi._

_Yeah_, Ace dozed, _I love them_-**WAIT!** Snapping his eyes wide open, in horror-struck realisation that his subconscious did **NOT** just say that; Ace cautiously turned his head, slowly pulling off his headphones and leaving them dangling on his neck as he stared into glistering azure eyes that belonged to a man he certainly did **NOT** know was next to him.

In the spur of the confusing moment, Ace unmindfully blurted out, "W-W-what?"

The man softly laughed, lazy-lidded eyes pleated in pairs of crescent moons as he pointed to the blaring music that escaped Ace's open headphones and kindly repeated, "I love _Imagine Dragons_, yoi."

"No way!" Ace bewilderedly replied, unable to surpass a forming grin, "You listen to them?"

It was a stupid question to ask but the ebony-haired simply could not believe that the man in front of him likes-no, _loves _one of his favourite bands; he needed the confirmation that he wasn't just imagining things that were too good to be true. Especially how it was also _a man_ who was a little _too good_ to be fatefully sitting next to him; he donned grey dress pants and (if Ace's gay nature didn't know any better) a French-cuffed lavender Oxford shirt that perfectly clothed his very apparent muscular frame, and accompanying the man's excellently sophisticated sense of fashion; was a relaxed torpid face that handsomely displayed two curious sapphire orbs and pale subtle lips, a jaw-line dotted with fine shrubbery hairs that illustrated a sense of maturity and refinement, and waved blonde locks flourishing the top of his head that was oddly appealing to Ace. This was all a little _too good_ indeed.

In response, the blonde-man briefly folded his heavy lids over those luminous blue eyes (much to Ace's disappointment); tapping his slender ivory fingers against the silky texture of his pants in beat as he pondered about where the song, which was softly emitting from the hanging headphones, was at.

Then, with perfect timing and a deep soothing voice that sent Ace's existence into stunning astonishment and enthrallment; the man sang,

"_But then, I'll admit  
I'm just the same as I was. . .  
Now don't you understand. . ._"

Subsequently, Ace felt an urge deep within him; an adrenal pulling inside his stomach that lurched in excitement, a thrust of blood that rushed all too fast to his amazed mind and a voice sounding from his heart that pounded and exulted in encouragement.

And the moment came, when both men met in a destined clash of metallic grey and swirling azure eyes; freckles danced in delight and small smile made its way to pale subtle lips before they both singly harmonised in absolute unison,

"_That I'm never changing who I am._"

Unwavering eyes still gazing upon each other, Ace got his confirmation; and with a hand pulled out towards the stranger who still reserved a kind smile, the younger man said with an ecstatic beam, "I'm Ace!"

...

_Something was there._

Ace concluded the story with a pleased toothy grin plastered on his youthful face, and both males broke out in a fit of chortles and laughter, their amusing exchange preserved within the empty train carriage that continued speeding through urban surroundings, which was still in slumber at the unpleasantly early hour.

"I just realised something" Marco, whose name Ace effortlessly remembered after introducing himself, started as he looked out the window that blurred the World outside before slowly sliding his eyes to meet the younger man, "I just missed my stop, yoi."

Ace dropped his jaw slightly in self-surprise before pinching it back up, "I just realised something as well. . ." with a sudden snort; the ebony-haired smiled in glee and laughed, "my stop was **six** stations ago."

But despite the fact that both men had missed their intended destinations and were travelling straight to the unknown, on an empty morning train, with a stranger that fate had bestowed upon them; neither Ace or Marco dismissed themselves or made the move to leave and possibly catch a train back.

The older man sunk his eyes, "I'm very sorry, yoi. For keeping you here."

"No!" Ace shook his head, uttering with reassurance "Don't be."

Marco then let out a soft, throaty chuckle, thrilling Ace as much as what he was about to say next, "Well then, I might just scare you off the train with _my_ next story, yoi."

Because to both of them; it was worth every passing station, every smile pulled, every laugh sounded; to neglect the World around them, to slowly discover more about each other and to journey on that one train together.

_There was something definitely there._

* * *

**A/N:** If you haven't already checked out "_It's Time_" by Imagine Dragons , Please Do ! It's Ace and Marco's special song for a reason (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ

Also, next chapter (which will be much longer to make up for how painfully short this chapter was) will be like a mini-series of AceXMarco moments, so prepare for an overload of LOVEEEEEE (｡・ε・｡)

As always, I would like you thank the following people for your much loved reviews that keep me moving forward : KashixKashi, Son Goshen , staleticia , azab , StrawberryGirlKairi , MarcoAce & Kitsune Foxfire

Thank you everyone and I hope you look forward to Chapter 5 (:

-Mochi

_ヾ(｡｀Д´｡)ﾉ _


	5. Chapter 5 : M o m e n t s

6PM.

Twilight painted the skies in mixed gradients of fading amber and indigo; the sun was slowly sinking into the horizon, retiring its golden richness as Ace made his way through the weathered garden gates of his front-yard with a smile lighting up his face. Locking it behind, the ebony-haired broke in a jog towards the small porch before kicking off his shoes and entering the homey interior of his house that welcomed him in a warm heavenly scent. There was a reason for his sudden hastiness and how he inhumanly appeared before the dining table that bared source to the delectable smell; it was something that made him question how he survived so far without it. _It was food!_ _Food oh glorious food!_ Oh how he didn't eat a single thing all day!

Then, an abashed blush made its way to freckled cheeks at the thought of _why_ he didn't get a chance to eat in the first place.

"You look rather happy dear" Rogue smilingly chimed, offering cutlery to Ace as she took a seat in front of her son; elbows propped onto the wood of the table and chin gracefully resting on the creamy smoothness of her palm, "Did something happen at College today?"

_Oh College? Nah, skipped it to ride the train all day with this really amazing person, mum! _But that would be highly inappropriate to recount to her so instead, Ace prompted a rather vague answer, "Nothing much" before spooning a heap of food into his mouth to keep his mum from questioning him or his probably-apparent blush any further.

But of course, that was a lie. Because trains and azure eyes was what actually _happened_.

* * *

7PM.

"Whoa." Thatch lifted his eyes in surprise at the smiling individual by the balcony, "Someone looks like they just got laid."

Averting his eyes away from the open view of his friend's apartment; Marco scoffed at the remark, letting out a lowly chuckle before correcting his brown-haired friend, "No, yoi. It's nothing like that."

The last of twilight had sunk into the earth and the sky had just fallen into a deep onyx. Marco watched the life of a world he had never quite known; a nocturnal world, come to life. There were light trails of cars rushing through the city highways, a dusty glow emitting from the silhouette of aligned skyscrapers, a collection of the most distinctive stars glistering on the night canvas and a pale crescent moon ascent in the birth of the night life. It was all so surreal, so dreamlike yet; genuine and most definitely real. . . _Like what had happened earlier today_. Marco didn't realise the broad smile that lingered on his face as his thoughts continued revolving around a certain person he had met.

"It's nothing like that at all…" He found himself repeating in a soft breath, azure eyes fixed on capturing the vibrant liveliness of Grand Line city.

Approaching the somewhat lonely blonde, Thatch leaned against the railing of balcony with a smug smirk, "Well, I'm gonna pick up some chicks at the bar, want to come?" the brown-haired then playfully nudged Marco in the ribs, making the latter slightly jump as he suggestively added with a wink, "There might be some _guys for you_ to go home with."

But despite Thatch's insistent offer, that now counted towards the numerous attempts of him trying to get Marco out of his unbearably long history of being single, the blonde-haired kindly declined with a shake of his head, "Not interested, yoi."

Thatch frowned before making his way towards the door, "You know, Pops and the whole family believe it's about time you happily settle with someone, even if you are _gay_."

Marco folded his arms and puffed in disbelief, "_You_ have _got_ to be kidding me, yoi. _You_ might as well have slept with half the female population of Grand Line city. _You_ should be the one settling down."

"That, my dear friend, is where we differ" Thatch cunningly proposed, "I am young, handsome and drop-dead gorgeous. But you are _old_, still good-looking, but _old._" With that, the brown-haired was swiftly gone before Marco could mercilessly scold him for mentioning his aging character. However, Marco couldn't stop contemplating about what Thatch had said before, about him establishing a long-lasting relationship with someone.

Suddenly thinking about trains and freckles, Marco knew that perhaps _it was time_.

* * *

_The . Next . Day_

_The . journey . there_

4:59AM. Ace anxiously stood on the small platform of the station, a nervous wreck as he constantly whipped his head left to right in desperate hope of seeing a certain blonde man. But the train was hurriedly approaching from the dim of the grasslands over the horizon and before long, the metal doors slid open in welcome to Ace; who sadly entered the empty compartment but failed to notice an amused light-headed figure ghosting behind him with a sly grin.

"Good morning, yoi" Marco laughed as Ace recognised the deep velvety voice, and instantaneously spun to meet him with a beaming smile that eradicated all the disappointment he had before. And it pleased Ace to know that Marco was just the same as yesterday; his blonde locks that topped his head, the fine shrubbery of hairs along his jaw-line and those illuminating azure eyes. . . But he also noticed how today, Marco donned a simple attire of a white business shirt with black pants and that somewhere among the blonde-man's presence, was a musky scent of spicy cinnamon and jasmine. It was so enthralling and added more excitement into discovering more about the older man who was only inches in front of him.

As the signalling tone sounded and the metal doors shushed shut for the train's railing departure; Ace blissfully called, "Good morning!" still retaining his beaming smile that shone more radiantly than the sun could ever in Marco's eyes. The older man never knew the freckles that dotted Ace's vanilla-tinted face could influence him in a way that eased him whenever they danced to the younger man's every movement. They truly were a charismatic feature in Marco's eyes.

Proceeding to sit by a broad transparent window that was already blurring the World outside; there was about an hour before the train reached Ace's stop and that he would have to step off to attend College, but both men knew they could make the most of it.

* * *

_Another . Day_

_The . journey . back_

Marco softly clasped Ace's chin, tilting it up to meet his eyes as he firmly spoke with an unwavering glare, "My arms are empty, but I only want _you_ to fill them."

"Marco" Ace murmured before placing a hand on the older man's cheek, "If you were a _booger_, I would _pick you_ first."

At that; the blonde man was the first to break, unable to suppress an uncontrollable laugh at how ridiculous Ace's best attempt at a pick-up line was, "That was **so bad**, yoi!"

"Hey!" the younger man puffed, "At least my pick-up lines are **funny**! Your lines are just plain **corny**."

Marco raised an eye-brow at the challenge, "Is this corny then, yoi?" Leaning himself closer to the latter, Marco lingered his lips over the shell of Ace's earlobe before softly whispering, "I have never had a dream come true until the day I met _you_."

Ace felt his insides constrict, his face heat bashfully all-too-fast and his breath suspend at how awfully _**romantic**_ Marco's words were. _Damn he was good!_ Using all his will-power to ignore the prodding drum of his heart that threatened to violently beat out of his chest, Ace turned his abashed face away from Marco before bellowing with a splutter, "T-That is just the C-CORNIEST L-LINE EVER!"

The older man let out another laugh.

* * *

_Another . Day_

_The . journey . there_

"I think I found a solution to fix your sleepy-look all the time."

Marco perked his eyes up to see Ace standing before him with a tray of two hot beverages.

The older man lifted his lazy eyes in sheer delight, "You got me coffee, yoi?"

But Ace then loudly gasped, lowering his head in contrition at his stupidity, "It's actually **hot chocolate**..."

His inner-soul was raging; _Ace, you idiot! Coffee has caffeine, which would be beneficial in keeping Marco's face awake! Why, of all times, did you have give-in to your personal preferences at the café!_

"Hot chocolate, yoi?"

Ace lowered himself deeper in embarrassment as he further added, "With **marshmallows** as well..."

Nonetheless, Marco seized the cup of stirring hot-cocoa with a warm smile; because at his age, you could never get a hot chocolate without people questioning you or giving you concerned looks.

And besides, he liked marshmallows.

* * *

_Another . Day_

_The . journey . back_

Monday afternoons were always _the worst_. As his train came to a gradual stop, Ace groaned as each passing carriage seemed to be crowded to the brim; all sorts of bodies clustered like sardines in the small cramped space of the metal compartment. This was why Ace enjoyed the early morning 5AM train; it was empty apart from him and Marco, and he liked it that way.

Gripping the strap of his shoulder bag, Ace began quickly walking along the temporarily-settled train, compensating each carriage to see which was the less crowded and didn't seemed to be swarmed with people about to explode out the windows. Until an arm drew him into the very last train-car and Ace found himself smiling at Marco, who spun him and allowed Ace's back to be supported by the cool wall.

"Trust me when I say this is the least-crowded carriage, yoi."

It was still quite packed and it didn't help that everyone was butt-to-butt among the sea of heated bodies. Frowning, Ace couldn't help but notice how people where constantly elbowing and bumping into Marco, who was hovering his sturdy body over Ace's to barricade the youngster from getting hurt.

"Marco, you don't have to do that." Ace asserted, trying to squirm his way out of Marco's protection.

But the train jolted and clattered against a set of older rails, resulting to the blonde pressing his body against Ace's as a new wave of elbowing and shoving started amongst the passengers.

Marco shook his head and leaned in, "You stand still, yoi. I can manage."

Gaping his mouth slightly, it took the ebony-haired a few moments to finally accept Marco's kind gesture. "Thank you" Ace reluctantly conceded, though somewhat enjoying the closeness of Marco's body; and knowing how easily their conversations could be preserved within the intimate space between them as the train continued rattling down the rails.

Tilting slightly away to observe Ace's eyes, Marco insistingly said, "Now, tell me about your day at College, yoi."

Then, Ace started with a smile.

* * *

_Another . Day_

_The . journey . there_

"What does it look like to you, yoi?"

Ace carefully studied Marco's hair, twisting his head and leaning his eyes in to come up with a description of what it reminded him of. After a few minutes of examining and analysing, Ace came up with a solid conclusion.

Nodding his head in sheer confirmation, Ace declared "Your hair looks like the ends of a mop-broom that recently absorbed spilt orange juice and was placed on your head."

Marco lifted his eyes in surprise, he most definitely did not expect '_ends of a mop-broom that recently absorbed spilt orange juice_' as an answer, in fact; the blonde man was quite glad that Ace didn't think his hair resembled a much-hated tropical _fruit_. No, now that he thought about it, Marco was _ecstatic _that one less person would harass him of the 'uncanny-replica' between his hair and the fruit-that-shall-not-be-named.

"You know what your hair looks like, yoi?" Marco asked, instantly confirming his deduction with a quick glance at Ace's raven tresses that parted at the central of his forehead and fell on the sides of his head to frame his youthful face.

The younger man let out a smile, "What does it look like to you?"

"Black liquorice."

Ace comically gagged, earning a soft laugh from Marco who expected the reaction, "I hate black liquorice! Who in the right mind eats that thing! You eat delicious candies like gummy bears, sour worms, chocolate frogs, pineapple-"

Then; Marco instantly stopped laughing, horridly turning to face Ace who was staring in awe-inspiring epiphany at his hair.

_Oh God, yoi._

* * *

_Another . Day_

_The . journey . back_

"And that," Ace concluded with a satisfied grin, "was how, I managed to set the guy's pants on fire with maple syrup and bubblegum."

Marco let out a heartfelt laugh before admitting with his hands playfully hauled up in a surrendering gesture, "Okay, yoi. Your story definitely beat mine."

"No way" Ace teasingly denied, softly snickering at the thought of Marco's story instead, "I think faking your death with a _pi-_"

Almost unexpectedly, Ace felt his senses fade and the World around him drain into forthcoming darkness and inertness. _No! Not now! _A stimulating chill ran through his body, descending it into an abyss of restful peace that Ace was very reluctant to succumb to. He cursed himself for not informing Marco earlier about his unfortunate sleep disorder, _damn narcolepsy!_

Lights dimming and vision blurring; Ace cursed himself again. And it hurt so much to see the blonde-man's face wash in surprise as he fell forward and became a victim to unconsciousness.

. . .

Ace, who was just sitting across from the older man, suddenly collapsed forward mid-way through his sentence. It surprise Marco as he was quick to capture the younger man's limp form in his arms, but it surprised him even more with Ace's face only paper sheets away from his and the fact that a soft snore was sounding from the lad.

The train pulled to a stop and Marco realised that the station that it had arrived at, was in fact his and Ace's stop. The metal doors slid open and people filtered in and out of the carriage while Marco idly sat still with his arms wrapped around a sleeping ebony-haired. The whole scenario brought a grin on his face. If Ace wakes up, the older man would inform him that they missed their station, and suggest they take a train back together.

Because at that moment, as the train begun its railing departure away from their intended stop, Marco could never imagine leaving Ace alone. _Not now. _Heck, if he could,_ not ever._

* * *

**A/N**: Please forgive me if this update is considered late to you ~ but I am starting school again soon, so I'll inform you lovely readers now that updates will come weekly, generally on a Sunday-Monday basis.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it ;) Though I kinda fail at the cutesy-fluffy-drabble-like writing ! \( ; A ; )/

Special mentions to the following people: MarcoAce, KashixKashi, Kitsune Firefox, RapistPanda, Cloud Piece, azab, Son Goshen & TheLegendOfFangirl ~ You all are my motivation ! And I can never thank you enough for your praise and support :D

Please look forward to the next chapter ~ ! THERE SHALL BE MORE ACEXMARCO !

And express any comments, questions, criticism, opinions, feedback, critiques, recommendations . . . etc. They will be greatly appreciated!

-Mochi


	6. Chapter 6 : P r o m i s e

"They are shutting down train services until Monday." Ace mentioned to Marco on a quiet afternoon back, though there was a saddened tone that could be found in his voice as he averted his eyes from the blurring window to the older man.

Marco let out a small smile of assurance, "Five days isn't that long, yoi. We can manage."

"At least there won't be any bumpy rails "Ace returned with a grin," You don't have to be my knight-in-shining-armour anymore. The evil bumping of elbows and butts will not bother us anymore."

Though Marco gloomily knitted his eyes with a frown, "That's too bad. I kinda liked protecting my damsel-in-distress, yoi."

At that, Ace threw a harmless punch at the blonde's shoulder with a small scowl on his face, while Marco softly laughed at the amusing reaction. When suddenly, an idea flashed through the younger man's mind and he was quick to roll the sleeve of his jumper up. Taking off a string of gleaming red beads that encircled Ace's wrist, Marco watched in wondering curiosity as Ace pulled the man's hand out and placed the bracelet on the calloused ivory of Marco's palm.

"This is _your_ promise to _me_," Ace explained before gently folding up Marco's fingers over the string of beads, "That you will meet with me in 5 days and return this to me."

Taking moments to finally understanding the concept, Marco happily placed the bracelet into his pant pocket, before bending over to grab and pry open his briefcase in search for the right item for Ace to keep for 5 days.

With a grin, Marco pulled out a set of paperwork and handed it to Ace with a chuckle, "This is _your_ promise to _me_. Keep it safe and return it to me because I may lose my job if I don't hand it in on Monday, yoi."

Glad that Marco accepted the terms and conditions, Ace questioned, "It's a deal?" as he grasped the sheets with a beaming smile that had his freckles springing into delight.

Marco corrected Ace with a sly wink, "It's a _promise_, yoi."

* * *

_4. Days. Later._

Never had Ace ever missed something so badly. Laying the temple of his head against the cool glass of the car window, Ace let out a quiet sigh in utter defeat to boredom; careful not to offend his mum (not that she was boring) who was currently driving.

"Ace" Rogue softly called as she gradually slowed the car at a red light, "Do you need me to drive you to College tomorrow?"

Ace lifted himself up in rapid response before carelessly blurting out, "No!" But upon seeing his mother stiffen at his decline, the younger man was quick to recover his rudeness, "I mean- the trains are back in service tomorrow. You don't need to take me to College."

"Oh, okay." was all she said before she accelerated forward at the green light.

Though feeling obligated to do so, Ace looked at his mum with grateful eyes despite the fact that she was fully concentrated on the road and sweetly said, "Thanks mum, for driving me these past 4 days."

Ace could have sworn he heard a giggle sound out of her, before she stole a glance off the road to look at her son, "I'm always happy to help you dear. Now tell me about your day at College."

The ebony-haired felt a sense of déjà Vu at that moment, but nonetheless, Ace started with a smile.

. . .

Marco had never proven himself so wrong; he lied to himself when he said he could manage 5 days without Ace. It was the 4th day and less than 12 hours to go until their meeting but _Oh Lord, yoi_; the blonde-man was struggling by the minute. It felt so empty, so lonely without Ace's wittiness and youthful energy. And it wasn't helping Marco's yearn for good company with Thatch constantly groaning in peril behind him.

The older man kneaded his forehead in submission to what his friend wanted to hear, "Thatch, you don't need to drive me to work tomorrow. The train services are back, yoi"

With a jump of joy, the brown-haired threw his arms in the air in delirious cheer as he cried, "YES!"

Marco could have sworn euphoric tears were filling his friend's eyes, "You seem really happy about not having to drive me, yoi."

Thatch threw his hands in the air again, "OF COURSE! I had to wake up at 4AM the last 4 days just to drive you to work! Because of that, you ruined my beautiful hair! And _who the hell_ even takes the 5AM morning train _every da_y?!"

Marco knew the answer but kept it to himself with a smile.

* * *

_The. Next. Day : Monday._

5AM. An unexpected visitor from nature had started the day with gloom. The morning was darkened by thick blankets of grey above; heavily pouring droplets that loudly pattered against any surface exposed and pooling murky puddles within every crevice on the ground. Rushing mindlessly through the cold shower, was a very lost person; his surroundings obstructed by the endless screen of falling water bullets, soaked clothes clinging desperately to his already shivering pale skin, and face streaming with rain-water that constantly flicked into his grey eyes. Ace swore under his breath when he realised just how late he was. It was 5AM and he was lost in the rain, late for his train and damn luckless to have forgotten his umbrella at home.

Ceasing all movement; the ebony-haired stood idly in amidst the endless tears that heaven above cried; a sad frown creasing his face at the thought of not meeting the promise he had made with a certain man. He felt absolute horrible; fabricating the image of the said man, too handsome to be alone, sitting on the empty morning train with disappointment evident on his face that someone he expected, had never shown up. Ace felt so horrible for having to do that to Marco. Oh, how he needed to see Marco so badly again, how he ached to speak to him and have the older man speak back with that deep alluring voice that knows of so much. How, after such a long time of getting to know him, Ace now yearned to _physically_ discover Marco; to know just how silky those blonde locks were when he ran his fingers through them or to see just what masculinity lay beneath the delicate materials of Marco's clothing. Marco was like nobody Ace had ever met; he could never find the words to describe how incredible the man was and it was selfish, but he regarded the older person as his own special possession.

Turning around and pulling himself through the harsh downpour, Ace opted to return home and sleep the shitiness of today off, before an approaching light-haired figure ahead, abruptly stopped him in his tracks.

Beige trench-coat soaked as much as Ace's orange jacket and black jeans, his blonde hair matted onto his head as rain-droplets streamed down his sleepy face and flickered into swirling azure eyes; Marco made his way towards a stunned Ace, and held up the morning newspaper above the younger man's head despite the fact that it was already wet to the brink of tearing apart. Ace continued staring dumbly at Marco, thinking; _is it not 5AM? Why on Earth is he in front of me? We are probably MILES from the station, wouldn't he be late?_

Hoping it would have sufficed as cover from the weather when he arrived; Marco lowly chuckled into the rain, discarding the soggy sheets of newspaper before digging a hand into his coat pocket and pulling out something that made Ace mutely gasp. It was the older man's _promise_; clearly evident in vibrant red against the dullness of the weather, it was Ace's bracelet.

Marco then reached out for the younger man's arm, gently pulling the sleeve of the orange jacket up before fixing the bracelet on with a satisfied smile.

Soon after, Ace brought himself together, harshly rummaging through his bag to find _his_ _promise_ that was in the form of Marco's very important stack of paperwork. But something unexpected happened; as soon as it was presented to the blonde man's line of vision, Marco swiftly grasped it then uncaringly threw it into the gutter. Stunned by the sudden action, Ace was evidently shocked by the way his widened-eyes trailed the papers that was being washed away, and how he was about to open his mouth in exclamation. Until Marco laid a finger on those pale young lips, silencing the ebony-haired as he firmly spoke against the roaring rain,

"I found you, yoi..."

Marco didn't bother explaining the context of that statement; he retained from admitting that he was at the station; punctual and expectant as always, before he went to chase after Ace, who had passed by the station unknowingly. Stepping forward to clasp Ace's freckled cheeks within his slender calloused hands, Marco spoke again,

"And that's all that matters..."

Only this time, it was the last of any words to be said; for a cloud above them bursted in heavy, stormy down-pour as Marco drew his face towards the younger man, pressing his lips against the warm curvy rim of Ace's; feeling cold droplets flow between their heated skins and realizing that 5 days, was 120 hours far too-long away from Ace.

It wasn't moments long, before Ace dropped his initial state of shock and registered the fact that Marco was kissing him... _Kissing him!_ There were no greetings, no questions and no mawkishly-sentimental confessions to build up to this; there was not even a confrontation about either of them being gay. It was all accelerating, all so infatuating...He wanted to break away, stop and thoroughly think this all over. But _this_, Ace realised, was what he wanted from all those train rides together… _This_ was what he was looking for as a naïve homosexual... _This_ never needed time or contemplating because, _this_ was _**love**_.

Allowing his eyes to flutter shut into the breath-taking moment; Ace melted into Marco, compelling his kissing touch back at the older man as he tenderly ran his hands through Marco's silky wet blonde locks before resting them on the back of his broad muscular neck, pulling them closer together.

_In the heavy down-pour, at 5:02AM, Ace and Marco had missed their train._

* * *

**A/N:** I have never felt so motivated to write up an update so quickly ! I simply have to thank the following beautiful readers/reviewers: Son Goshen, Kenouki, azab, Kitsune Foxfire, Naomi Zakuro, StrawberryGirlKairi, TheLegendOfFangirl, KashixKashi & Gundum-grrl ~ I thinks it's official to say that **I LOVE YOU ALL**~ You guys are the very reason I continue this and why it's come to this momentous moment, I honestly never expected "Same Love" to go as far as this ( TT A TT )

Sorry if this Chapter comes off as corny ! I have this 'thing' for dramatic kiss scenes in the rain ( ^ A ^ ) Though this is my first time ever writing a male-to-male kiss, I hope it didn't come out as awkward and weird \( ; A ; )/ Which is why I am VERY insecure and unsure if there will be any _steamy/hot_ content later on . . . Sorry readers ! I'm still trying to grasp the concept of yaoi (though I still cannot stand some of it) OTL yeah, I suck.

Anyways, please look forward to the next chapter !

And express any comments, questions, criticism, opinions, feedback, critiques, recommendations . . . etc. They will be greatly appreciated!

-Mochi


	7. Chapter 7 : T o g e t h e r

******A/N: **I found "_Eyes Close_d" and simply thought that it fitted perfectly with this and the last chapter; so please, if you could spare a few minutes to listen to this beautiful song by_ the Narrative_, please do ! (I might just suggest a complementary song with every chapter :D )

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece (by Eiichiro Oda) or Eyes Closed (by The Narrative) ~

* * *

_In the heavy down-pour, at 5:02AM, Ace and Marco had missed their train._

* * *

_The clouds hold,_

_a storm over this road..._

_You're dreaming..._

_Or at least you've got your eyes closed…_

Marco gently drew away, making Ace yearningly press forward to linger his lips against the blonde's; eager to preserve the significance of the moment and make the most of their first _breath-takingly spectacular_ kiss. And the older man couldn't help but smile at Ace's sheer willingness; conceding to the younger man's wishes by peppering those rain-damped freckled cheeks in quick tender kisses before taking in the grey eyes before him. Only suddenly with a remorseful frown, did Marco realise the circumstance of what he just did; _kiss a young man without questioning his sexual orientation and only after weeks of knowing him?_ It was definitely out of his character to do so, and Izo would scold him to no ends for it (though Thatch would probably encourage it); he was, after all, being very impulsive and dreadfully selfish.

"I'm sorry, yoi" Marco voiced against the crashing rain, dropping his grasp from Ace's face, "I got a little impatient. Sorry."

Ace felt slightly irritated. Burning with fervent for Marco's touch again; the ebony-haired reached to clutch Marco's hand, entwining their fingers in a knot of warm intimacy with a small urging yank on the blonde's arm, "Stop saying sorry, you! And besides… I wanted you to do that since day freakin' _one_."

"So to clarify things, yoi…"

Inclining his head, Ace brushed his lips against the fine shrubbery of Marco's jawline, amazed at how intoxicating it felt to have the small hairs prick on his touch. With a sneer, Ace completed Marco's dwelling sentence, "_Yes_, I'm gay."

The blonde then took a moment to _truly_ look at Ace; azure eyes fixed on scrutinising and savouring each detail, each feature of the person he had chosen to start something with. Marco traced every wavy strand of raven, every gleam that shimmered in those lustrous grey eyes and every freckle that sprayed against vanilla-tinted cheeks of the person who he just _knew_ at that moment, was the _one_.

_Now the rain is crashing down-_

_and oh my god, you're beautiful..._

"It might sound stupid and cliché as hell, yoi," Marco said with a slight sense of abashment that could be found in his voice, "But I think I'm falling in love with you."

Ace couldn't help but laugh at the corny remark; _gosh, Marco was one cheesy pineapple_. Prodding forward through the drenching rain that could never diminish what had just transpired, Ace urged Marco with a toothy beam, "C'mon, let's go be stupid and cliché together."

* * *

**A/N: **To my few loyal lovely readers, I deeply apologise for not updating in over a month and in addition to that, giving you a horrifyingly short (and rather badly written) chapter in poor compensation to your patience and support ~ Golly, I am one HORRIBLE writer ( ; A ; )

Anyways, I have to simply express something; much of the reason why I didn't update for a long time was lack of motivation and the rest is that I simply found that I didn't seem to be good enough for people. Maybe my writing was boring or that I had high ambitions that left me hopeless, but when you find yourself lingering over the "Delete Story" button; it says a lot.

That is until I realised that, there are NICE PEOPLE OUT THERE ! And that even if I'm not as good as other fantastic writers or that I don't get that much favourites/follows/reviews, I'm doing what I love and that's a great achievement for someone who always confines her work ! So pessimistic _pumpkintofu_, you have been slain !

Of course I must and will always thank the following reviewers for all their love and support; KashixKashi, Kitsune Demon Girl, Son Goshen, Stuff'nStuff, Kitsune Foxfire, StrawberryGirlKairi, Gundum-grrl, azab, Naomi Zakuro, Sweetkoneko, Arjenka, midorihitomi & Kenouki

How I ever managed to garner the attention of godly writers: Son Goshen, Anjelle & Stuff'nStuff will forever remain a mystery to me and also, be the perfect example of a once-in-a-life-time MIRACLE. I am truely worthless in all your presence. ( TT A TT )

And to the kind and beautiful Kyyhkynen & Jellyfish-Chu; you may not know it but I believe your recent favourite and follow was what evoked me to update, so thank you so very much :)

I hope you forgive me for my tardiness and please look forward to the next few chapters; I will ensure that they make up for the long period of time that I kept you all waiting. Now, off to catch up on my fic-reading and reviewing :D

- Mochi

* * *

**_Preview for Chapter 8 :_**

U . N . C . E . R . T . A . I . N . T . Y

"Ace, anymore stressing and your freckles will fall off soon, yoi" the blonde man asserted, eyeing the agitated ebony-haired beside him who bore a small anxious frown and knitted eyebrows that furrowed in uncertainty. With a small assuring grasp on Ace's shoulder, Marco continued, "They're _your_ family. You're _not_ the one who needs to _impress them_, yoi."

Ceasing their walk in front of the weathered garden gates of his home, Ace turned to gaze into the azure orbs of the older man beside him, "Marco… It's just that…My grandpa and little brother will be there… I've told my mum about me being gay, but I'm not sure if gramps or Luffy will accept me…" Suddenly reaching out to Marco; Ace fisted the silky fabric of the man's shirt within his shaking hands and drew Marco closer to dig his troubled face into the stern blade of the blonde's shoulder. With an edgy low voice, Ace wearily sighed, "I'm not sure if they will accept _us_…"

...


	8. Chapter 8 : U n c e r t a i n t y

They started their relationship very subtly, as it was all quite new and uncovering for Ace. The freckled man had never formed a homosexual relationship with anyone before, so it was indeed a little foreign- but it didn't deprive Ace from any relationship experience, for he had a number of girlfriends throughout high school and college- but this was under a whole different criterion. Because being in a homosexual relationship required attentiveness; there was much to consider and they both knew of the adversaries that they _will_, sooner or later, encounter down the road. But so far, Marco made being with him the most fulfilling and loveliest experience Ace had ever had with another person; because the blonde man was careful to go at Ace's pace; Marco was cherishing, compassionate and so knowledgeable – Ace could listen to him all day and learn more from the older man in 2 hours than 4 years at his stupid college course. Talking about stupid things; Ace believed himself to be one, because it had somehow come up in a conversation with Marco one afternoon on a train-ride back, and it was actually going to happen this evening. Dinner, with Marco- _boy_, did Ace wish it was only _just_ that- but it was worse. Dinner, with Marco _**AND**_ his own family. _Oh God, set me on fire now._

"Ace, anymore stressing and your freckles will fall off soon, yoi" the blonde man asserted, eyeing the agitated ebony-haired beside him who bore a small anxious frown and knitted eyebrows that furrowed in uncertainty. With a small assuring grasp on Ace's shoulder, Marco continued, "They're _your_ family. You're _not_ the one who needs to _impress_ them, yoi."

Ceasing their walk in front of the weathered garden gates of his home, Ace turned to gaze into the azure orbs of the older man beside him, "Marco… It's just that…My grandpa and little brother will be there… I've told my mum about me being gay, but I'm not sure if gramps or Luffy will accept me…" Suddenly reaching out to Marco; Ace fisted the silky fabric of the man's shirt within his shaking hands and drew Marco closer to dig his troubled face into the stern blade of the blonde's shoulder. With an edgy low voice, Ace wearily sighed, "I'm not sure if they will accept _us_…"

"It can be hard at times…" he heard Marco say before the older man gently pulled the ebony-haired away to console him with the ocean that dwelled in his azure eyes, "but know that I will always be there for you, yoi. And if you're really uncertain about this, we can wait for as long as you need before coming out, okay?"

But despite how tempting and almost beneficial it would be to take on Marco's insistence; Ace could do nothing but shake his head and pronounce with a determined certainty, "No. _I need_ to do this. I can't keep myself hidden away any longer. I _need_ this."

Marco was quite taken aback from the younger man's sudden burst of confidence but nonetheless, he was proud to see that Ace was opening up more to his sexuality; because it's always the first and most vital step, but also, the most difficult. Before the blonde could tell him how pleased he was, Ace pulled a small smile before continuing his last statement, "and I want them to know just how amazing you are."

Trying to purge the abashment that was swirling inside him at Ace's flattering words; Marco coughed, "That was the corniest line ever, yoi."

"Oi! Don't go calling me corny when _clearly; _you are the _romantic_ of our relationship."

_Interesting_, perhaps Marco should test the hypothesis out. The older man simply could not restrain himself then from asking the younger man, "Why does it feel like the most beautiful person in the World is in front of me?"

"SHUT UP!" Ace bellowed at Marco, face flushed in red all-too embarrassingly quick before he ferociously stormed over towards the front door and violently knocked it; his _stupid_ _**boyfriend**_ lowly snickering in amusement not too far behind.

* * *

_Okay, so far, so good_, Ace breathed as everyone situated at the dinner table began indulging into his mum's delectable cooking; sitting next to him on his left was Marco, and across from them was his little brother Luffy and his mum, and finally at the end of the table was Grandpa Garp, who began dropping a whole essay on how delicious the meal was, followed through with agreements by Luffy, Marco and of course, himself. _Oh thank the lord for his mum's cooking being so good; it's always an ice-breaker!_ Ace noted to vastly thank her for that later.

"So," Rouge started with a benevolent gaze towards Ace's new companion, "what do you do for a living, Marco dear?"  
The ebony-haired probably suffered from 2 heart-attacks during the time the question was being asked; _Oh God, oh god; here come the get-to-know conversations!_

An appreciative smile made its way to the blonde's lips as Marco kindly replied, "Why, I work as a midwife at the Newgate Hospital."

"Huh?" Luffy intoned, his fork of stabbed meat paused amidst the path to his mouth as he curiously gawked at the blonde man next to his older brother, "What's a midwife? Aren't wives female? Are you a _girl_?"

_Alright Ace, you are going to lose your freckles soon if you keep it up like this. Time to pitch in and make tonight as much of a normal dinner as possible!_

"No Luffy, Marco is a _man_." Ace corrected, a small sincere smile edging to his lips, "And a midwife is a medical professional who helps women deliver new-born babies."

Rouge clapped her hands in delight, "Oh! It's so uncommon to hear of a male mid-wife! What brought you to such an intriguing occupation, Marco?"

"I guess…" Marco conscientiously trailed before finding the right words with a poignant smile, "_Life_ brought me to become a midwife, yoi… To be able to help mothers every day; deliver the gift of birth and new-life is the most fulfilling thing ever." The freckled mother found that her eyes softened to Marco's words; she was quite moved by his sincerity and was grateful to know that such an individual existed to help women during of the most significant moment of their lives; Rouge knew then, that Marco was a _good man_.

Across from Ace, Luffy loudly complained with a tongue poked out in repulsion, "I don't like babies! They scream and cry too much!"

"Oi Luffy!" Ace called out before leaning over the table to flick his idiot little brother's forehead, "You can't just say that when _you_, _**yourself**_ was once the biggest **cry-baby** I've ever known!"

And while the D. siblings continued their fit of whines and bawls, Garp interestedly inquired the blonde male midwife, "Marco son, it must be excruciating horrible to see women during labour all-day, every day."

Puckering her lips and rolling her hazel eyes; Rouge couldn't help but sigh to Garp's rather sexist prompt, "Men will **never** understand the pain of giving birth…"

"You have no _idea_, Mr Monkey, yoi." Marco softly chuckled as he took a small sip from his swirling glass of wine, "I believe at this point of my career, I am completely _turned off_ from women forever."

Garp threw his head back with a booming laugh, slamming the table as cutlery and chinaware jumped to the Marine's every pound. Looking over next to him, Ace found it impossible not to smile as Marco gave him a quick sly wink. "Bwahahaha! You know, I never knew Old Man Newgate built a hospital."

"Yes, Edward Newgate is quite the accomplished man. I am very proud to be working under his name, yoi."

"And you should be! I respect Newgate despite our corporal rivalry!" Garp humbly assured before averting his attention over to his oldest grandson, "You have quite the acquaintance here, Ace my boy."

"Actually Gramps…" the ebony-haired began with a slight shift in his seat. Ace somehow thought that this was perhaps the most appropriate time to announce the big news and to formally declare his relationship with Marco as well as his homosexuality towards the closest family he had. After all, they had every right to know and although he preferred that they wouldn't, Ace recognised that they also had every right to not approve. "Mum… Luffy… Marco is my boyfriend."

A deathly silence suddenly befell before the dinner table, and to Ace, who began to sink into his seat in repentance; it felt like a thousand blunt, rustic knives had mercilessly stabbed into his heart. _I'm such an idiot…_ He couldn't bear to look at the reactions of any of his family members; but most of all, he couldn't bear to see how Marco was feeling. _God, I'm such a fucking idiot…_

"Shishishishi, Ace is in love!"

A childish snicker abruptly sounded and Ace buoyantly perked his head to see that his idiot little brother was laughing with that stupid toothy beam on his face. _Oh Luffy, you lovely moron…_ And then, as quickly as it happened; it felt as if those thousand blunt, rustic knives had evaporated and was replaced with a new kind of hope that made Ace believe that perhaps coming out wasn't something to regret. _You lovely bastard…_

Turning with a marvelling gleam in his onyx eyes to the person who was now known as Ace's boyfriend, Luffy continue his fit of titters and cackles; "Shishishishi, is Marco really-" But then, a deep dissatisfied grunt sounded throughout the room; cutting Luffy mid-sentence before the harsh scrapping of a wooden chair pierced into evening, leaving a seat on the table vacant and empty as Garp gravely left the room without a word or a look to anyone. The knives came back all too quick, only this time; it sadistically twisted and viciously slashed within Ace as he gathered that his grandfather didn't approve of him being gay with Marco at all. _I'm such an idiot…_

"I'm so sorry Ace…" Marco quietly uttered, a faint apologetic frown creasing his pale subtle lips as the older man grazed his calloused hand over Ace's on the table.

And although Ace found some form of comfort in entangling his fingers between Marco's, it wasn't enough for him to not ask for forgiveness from his boyfriend, "No, _I_ should be the one saying sorry."

"_No_, _**none**_ of you should be apologising." Rouge spoke up in a definite tone that surely garnered the attention of everyone on the table, "Understand that this is new to your grandfather; he had certain expectations for you Ace. And you know from growing up that he always wanted you to-"

Luffy interjected with a frustrated shout, "That's not right! Ace didn't do anything wrong! And Marco seems to be a pretty good wife" – although it was probably not ideal, the older man couldn't help but arc an eye-brow to this – "for Ace! Gramps is the wrong one!"

"And you are absolutely right Luffy, but right now, Grandpa Garp thinks elsewise; so give him some time to accept this" Ace's mum urgently stressed before looking over to her son's partner with a sympathetic smile, "Marco dear, it has been a pleasure meeting you today. I understand that Ace is in good hands with you but I do hope we can have dinner together soon."

Marco warmed up to the prospect with a grin, "Of course Ms Portgaz, it would do me great pleasure to have your exquisite cooking again, yoi."

"Hey Ace!" Luffy giggly called, leaning over the table to flick the forehead of his older brother.

Jumping slightly to the small attack and rubbing the brow of his head, the freckled man irritably countered with a staggered cry, "Oi! What was that for?!"

"If you're happy with Marco, then everything is okay" the younger D sibling widely grinned with a thumbs-up shoved before Ace's face, "I will beat up anyone who disagrees. Shishishishi!"

Ace was at loss for words; he didn't know what to think or what to say. He at least expected gramps to condemn his sexuality but his mum and little brother? The freckled man was quite shocked. It came to him with blow of conflicted feelings and he still couldn't register it in his mind; until Marco leaned in against his ear to tell him in an encouraging whisper, "You have a good family, yoi."

Looking up with indebted eyes to the 2 people that meant the most family to him, it never felt more right then to finally voice everything he ever wanted to say to the amazing woman who singly raised him into the person he was now, and the idiot little brother who always got him worried yet insanely stood by him through thick and thin, "Thanks mum… Thanks Lu…"

* * *

Closing the front door behind him, Ace let out a tired sigh before turning to the blonde man beside him with small anxious frown and knitted eyebrows that furrowed in uncertainty, "I am really sorry Marco. I totally screwed us up before; I should have stayed quiet…"

"Ace, yoi. It doesn't matter, what's done is done, yoi" with that, the older man moved to enclose Ace's body within his securing arms, trying to smother all of Ace's anxiety as he whispered words of assurance to the younger man, "And whatever happens now, whether it's good or bad… Know that I will always be there for you."

But Marco could tell that Ace was still upset and it saddened the blonde to see Ace like this when he was so accustomed to the high-spirited and confident side of the freckled man.

"Hey" Marco suddenly spoke, lifting Ace's chin so that those metallic grey eyes could read his own azure orbs, "_A zombie angrily laughed at the dancing cake_, yoi."

In response, Ace made an incredulous facial expression at the random remark; an inevitable grin lining his face the more he fabricated the ridiculous image of Marco's wild imagination in his head as he laughingly questioned, "What?! Where did that come from?"

"Nowhere" Marco lamely shrugged, though there was an obvious sense of accomplishment that could be found within his torpid face, "I just wanted to see you smile. Besides, I still need to introduce you to _my_ family."

"Are they anything like mine?"

Marco let out a sudden low darkly chortle; making Ace believe that the reaction could probably be made out as a snort if the older man didn't have such an elegant façade. "_Trust me_" Marco said, shaking his head with laughing smile that told of many embarrassing stories and dysfunctional relationships, "They are _**worse**_."

* * *

**A/N:** You can probably guess what the next chapter will be about: Meeting the Whitebeard Crew ! * A * I really hope you enjoyed this chapter despite Garp's reaction ~ And Dialogue is not my strongest point in writing so I do hope you excuse the shallowness of the speech in this chapter ~ But I am kicking myself right now, my face is just like ( ._. ) when I realised how OutOfCharacter everyone seems to be and how horrible the pacing is from re-reading the previous chapters! Hahahaha, too late to turn things around, so I guess you lovely readers out there will have to deal with it; though I promise to make Ace and Marco more in character in the next few chapters !

Speaking of lovely readers: Kitsune Foxfire, Guest, KashixKashi, TheLegendOfFangirl, azab, Anjelle, Son Goshen, StrawberryGirlKairi, Kenouki & Stuff'nStuff ; I cannot emphasize enough on how much your support and praise means to me ( ; A ; ) Seriously, you saints have me crying happy tears by your every word ~ Thank you so very much!

* * *

**_Preview for Chapter 9 :_**

F . A . M . I . L . Y

"I told you they were _worse_, yoi." Marco exhaled, snaking an arm around Ace's waist to bring the younger man closer.

"No, they're actually pretty awesome."

Marco leaned in to quickly plant a kiss on Ace's freckled cheeks, a smile curling the longer he locked gazes with the coal of Ace's eyes, "I am so fortunate to have someone who can tolerate my family of brats, yoi."

From the distance, a certain masculine feminist clasped his hand over his mouth in awe of the scene that just unfolded before him; and anyone didn't need a second glance at the curdled fine line of red lips or the handkerchief that crinkled between pale slender fingers to know that said man was tearing in his eyes.  
"Oh my god" Izo gasped to the beauty of an unconditional love between his brother and the new kid, "they are **_so_** going to get _married_."

Thatch was also there beside Izo, nodding his head in solemn agreement as he spelled out the supreme truth in words, "_So_. Going. To. Get. _Married_."


End file.
